Feds pull out of I-10 Bayway project

Wednesday, the federal government rejected a $250 million grant application from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) necessary to continue the Mobile River Bridge and I-10 Bayway Project.

State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) says the financial setback means “spending on the proposed duplicate Intercoastal Canal Bridge must be halted and redirected to the I-10 Bayway project.”

Zeigler said Wednesday: “The failure of the state to obtain the needed quarter-billion dollar ‘Infra’ grant means that discretionary funding must be redirected to the more mature project for which there is a clearer need.”

A partnership of government leaders from Mobile and Baldwin County had applied for the $250 million dollar INFRA grant last year. The INFRA “infrastructure for rebuilding America” program provides discretionary funding for projects that address critical issues facing our nation’s highways and bridges.
State officials insist that this setback will not delay the project. ALDOT officials say that they are traveling to Washington next week to meet with federal officials.

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State transportation officials may re-apply next year. ALDOT appears committed to moving the I-10 project forward. The pile driving work along the Bayway has already been finished.

The I-10 project is designed to eliminate congestion in Mobile’s Wallace Tunnels and across the I-10 Bayway over Mobile Bay. The state of Alabama has been working on the project for years.

The project for a duplicate bridge over the Intercoastal Canal is relatively new and would cost an estimated $87 million.

Zeigler says the I-10 project must be a higher priority than the duplicate Intercoastal bridge, which would connect the Beach Express to Orange Beach.

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“Our transportation dollars are limited. We must set priorities and not base spending on politics. We cannot build everything at once,” Zeigler said. “We need funds for Bloody 98, I-65, highway 280, I-565 and dozens of local projects. We cannot afford to prioritize by politics.”

Local leaders said they received official word from Congressman Bradley Byrne’s office Tuesday morning.
ALDOT submitted the grant request on November 7.

The I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project is a proposal to increase the capacity of I-10 by constructing a new six-lane bridge with 215 feet of Air Draft Clearance (ADC) across the Mobile River and building a new eight-lane Bayway.

ALDOT claims that, “In the Mobile area, there is a need to increase the capacity of I-10 to meet existing and predicted future traffic volumes and to provide a more direct route for vehicles transporting hazardous materials, while minimizing impacts to Mobile’s maritime industry.”

Original reporting by Fox 10 News in Mobile contributed to this report.

ACLU of Alabama calls on cities to address police excessive use of force

The ACLU of Alabama on Friday called on the state’s mayors to address police enforcement of protests and to reimagine the role of police in the wake of the death of George Floyd and others killed by police.

Protestors in Huntsville and Mobile have been tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets by police, and numerous journalists covering demonstrations in recent days have been unlawfullydetained.

The unrest in Alabama is mirrored in demonstrations across the country, putting a spotlight on police brutality and the sanctity of the Constitutionally-protected right to protest.

ACLU of Alabama’s full statement.

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Many Alabamians have joined the demonstrations happening across the country to protest police violence against Black people and demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and the many other Black men, women, and children who have been killed by police. In response, we have seen police meet these demonstrations with tear gas and rubber bullets in Huntsville and Mobile, we have seen police arrest journalists in Birmingham, and we have seen the Attorney General defend and praise the actions in Huntsville.

These are police actions meant to silence our calls for justice, and we cannot move forward when the response to protesting police brutality is more police brutality.

We need accountability and leadership from our elected officials. While the First Amendment does allow for reasonable restrictions to be enacted regarding the time, place, and manner in which protests and demonstrations take place, it is important to note that just because government officials can do it does not mean that they should.

Instead, it is imperative that mayors like Randall Woodfin, Tommy Battle, and Sandy Stimpson work with their city councils and city police departments to stop the use of militarized force during these protests. Employing these tactics is a gross misuse of police force and the city resources that fund them, and it is within the power of a city council to pass an ordinance to stop it.

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Cities in Alabama already spend millions of dollars on police departments, even though we have seen time and again that police have failed to keep our communities safe. Not only have they been responsible for terrorizing Black communities for decades, we are also seeing right now how easily police turn to excessive force that does much more harm. Birmingham City spent 95 million dollars in fiscal year 2019 on their police force alone, with a proposed budget of 92 million dollars for fiscal year 2020. By comparison, in fiscal year 2019 the city spent 77 million dollars on all of general government functions and 46 million on all of culture and recreation activities.

Instead of turning to police once again to enforce protest and movement restrictions, we call on city mayors across Alabama to recognize this moment as an opportunity to address the ongoing problems within their respective police departments, made very evident this week, and to stop pouring money into this abusive system. We need to fundamentally reimagine the role police play in our society, and that role has to be smaller, more circumscribed, and less funded with tax-payer dollars. This massive shift will not only reduce the misguided, harmful abuse and harassment of impacted communities by police, but also allow for the money saved to be reinvested into community-based services, resources, and alternatives to policing that are best suited to responding to actual community needs.

Meanwhile, the ACLU of Alabama is continuing to monitor these protests, and we encourage anyone participating in a protest to document as much as you can regarding police activity. You have the right to photograph or film anything in plain view, including government buildings and the police. They may order someone to cease if the filming is truly interfering with legitimate operations, but they may not confiscate or demand to view your photos or videos without a warrant. Help us collect more documentation of these protests by submitting them to [email protected]

“Moving this statue will not change the past,” Stimpson said in a statement on Twitter. “It is about removing a potential distraction so we may focus clearly on the future of our city. That conversation, and the mission to create One Mobile, continues today.”

SPLC spokesperson Lecia Brooks in a statement Friday said for more than a century Confederate monuments have been used to glorify those who fought to keep Black people enslaved.

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“Symbols such as this monument are a reminder of our country’s ongoing dehumanization of Black people and systemic racism – the results of which have been playing out through protests across the U.S. over the last two weeks. While it’s unclear if the removal is permanent, it’s encouraging that this symbol of revisionist history is gone from public land, and we urge public officials to put it away for good,” Brooks said.

“Unrepentant symbols of oppression such as this monument continue to be displayed throughout Alabama’s government buildings, schools and parks, and are currently protected by the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act that protects symbols commemorating white supremacy and the brutal subjugation of Black communities. It goes against American ideals and should be repealed,” Brooks continued.

Stimpson’s decision to remove his city’s Confederate monument followed Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s order to remove that city’s Confederate monument in Linn Park following a lengthy court battle and a recent lawsuit by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall that will likely cost the city a $25,000 fine for the statue’s removal.

In a statement to APR Friday, a spokesperson for the attorney general said there are “conflicting reports” about the nature of the removal of the Confederate statue in Mobile.

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“There have been conflicting reports concerning the circumstances surrounding the removal of the historic Admiral Semmes statue from downtown Mobile. The Attorney General is presently gathering more facts to make a determination of whether the law has been violated,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “If the Attorney General finds that a violation of the law has occurred, he will take appropriate steps to enforce it.”

As protests against police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis continue across the country, more of these symbols of the Confederacy have begun coming down.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday announced a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is to be removed as quickly as possible, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said that same day that a monument dedicated to Confederate soldiers who died in Union camps will be moved from a city park.

“Our streets are filled with voices of anger and anguish, testament to centuries of racism directed at Black Americans,” Hogsett said in a statement, according to IndyStar. “We must name these instances of discrimination and never forget our past — but we should not honor them. Whatever original purpose this grave marker might once have had, for far too long it has served as nothing more than a painful reminder of our state’s horrific embrace of the Ku Klux Klan a century ago.”

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Two charged in Moody police officer’s death

Two people have been arrested in the shooting death of Moody police Sgt. Stephen Williams.

St. Clair County district attorney Lyle Harmon in a press conference Friday announced that Birmingham residents Tapero Corlene Johnson, 27, and Marquisha Annissa Tyson, 28, have been arrested and charged with capital murder in the officer’s death.

Williams was shot while responding to a call at the Super 8 Motel on Highway 411 late Tuesday night.

Moody Police Department Chief Thomas Hunt during the press conference said the department’s officers are hurting.

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“We’ve lost a brother. We’ve lost a dear friend,” Hunt said.

Williams’ visitation will be Sunday, June 7, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Ridout’s Southern Heritage Funeral Home at 1011 Cahaba Valley Road in Pelham.

His funeral will be held on Monday, June 8 at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Moody at 962 Church Street.

Protesters gathered in Huntsville on Wednesday, first at an NAACP rally against police brutality, and later an unorganized protest downtown near the Madison County courthouse.

The largely peaceful demonstrations ended when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators who refused to disperse after a protest permit expired at 6:30 p.m.

The Huntsville Police chief and Madison County sheriff have said they used appropriate force to disperse an “unauthorized protest against the government.”

Police claim the protest had to be dispersed because “anarchists” from out of state hijacked the gathering and threw rocks and water bottles at police.

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“It’s darkness coming on, when we lose the fight,” Chief Mark McMurray said. “We have daylight, we win. It’s 90 minutes. It’s an unauthorized protest against the government. That’s what it is. That’s what anarchists do. This was not NAACP. This was a separate splinter group that took advantage of a peaceful protest and hijacked it to cause anarchy against our government. Their way is to cause damage, set fires, loot, pillage.”

At least 24 people were arrested, all locals from Madison County — 20 of them charged with disorderly conduct. Several people were injured by “less lethal” rubber bullets and tear gas deployed by police. At least two police officers sustained minor injuries and returned to work the next day, the police chief said Thursday.

Below are some accounts and videos from demonstrators at the protest, based on their own recollection of what happened. Their accounts have been edited for length and clarity. This post may be updated with additional perspectives.

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Video: Eddie Swift

Sarah Myers from Huntsville:

We came to the protest in the park initially at around 5:30 p.m. It was so packed we could barely get anywhere near the crowd or speakers, but we came with medical supplies in case people got maced again like they did Monday.

We dispersed our supplies to various people around the park, and then shortly after headed home. At 7:30 p.m., we came back because we saw people posting about how the protest moved to the courthouse square and there was a strong police presence. I wanted to document and make sure people were okay. I had no idea what would happen.

As we approached the square at about 7:30 p.m., all the stairs to the courthouse were barred up and heavily armed, shielded officers wearing gas masks lined the entire perimeter of the courthouse.

I’ve never felt the fear I felt then. I genuinely felt as if I could be shot at any moment for any reason. They were intimidating, smug, snickering amongst themselves as we protested.

I suppose, we were blocking the streets, so we gave them a “reason.” I say that very loosely and sarcastically because the way they responded was in no way appropriate toward civilians — even if we were standing in the street.

I’ve heard about the 6:30 p.m. expiration of the permit — which I guess the NAACP agreed upon — but is public property not always fairground for a protest? Even if we, as a separate group, wanted to continue after 6:30?

Photo: Eddie Swift

Maybe I’m wrong, but what I do know is we were 99 percent peaceful. The majority SHOULD HAVE spoken. The police could have easily taken a knee with us, as many police in many cities have done, and we would have been gone by 8.

But what they did instead was wait for the clock to strike “8” (7:45) and started sounding off loud intense alarm sounds, so I fell back about a block. I’m honestly not even sure on a perfect timeline after that — all hell broke loose, time stretched and warped and still hasn’t really returned to the same.

I cannot get my mind off of that night, the feeling of terror in my own city.

They were trapping us, yet shoving us, there were people screaming blood-curdling screams because of pepper spray or tear gas being sprayed directly into their faces.

Immediately turning around to see a young boy, who looked no older than 17, with a huge hole blown out of his calf and blood covering his entire leg. He was in such shock that you couldn’t even tell anything was wrong until you looked down. We were trying to help this guy, and they still just kept shooting behind us, dropping gas on us, shoving us while we knelt down on the sidewalks, trying to aid people.

We literally just had to take off running for shelter in the parking garage on Jefferson in the middle of helping that guy because there was just constant shots approaching behind us.

Everyone I saw who was shot, was shot with their backs turned to the police. People who were trying to disperse, being maced as they ran by. A medic helping someone on the sidewalk, and police throwing smoke canisters at them.

It was barbaric, unnecessary terrorism. Someone needs to be held accountable for the absolutely uncalled for brutality that happened that night.

Even if someone threw a water bottle or yelled at them, we were unarmed. We were 99 percent peaceful and not participating in antagonizing the police, but when they decided they were over it, they didn’t care who was what or what was what. They started shooting, harassing, arresting, and gassing innocent people who pleaded with them and protested for change.

We left at the point that the riot police began advancing down Jefferson. It just seemed like there was nothing else we could do. They made it clear to leave if you can — or get brutalized one way or another.

I don’t really know what else to say other than I got a glimpse of what a black person goes through everyday … who do you call when its the police that are attacking us?

Warning: Video contains violence and profane language.

Video: Eddie Swift

Teddy Young from Huntsville

I went to the protest with no intention of being shot or causing issues that would require any type of retaliation by police. I honestly believe that most people held that same mindset. We were there to speak our pain and support the lives who can longer do so themselves. The day started out fine — speeches, love, declarations of hope, bursts of anger at the situation. But all of it paled in comparison to the last couple hours we spent there.

The cops spent a good portion of time menacingly staring at the protestors from the courthouse steps. Some clearly getting the wire cuffs ready, others pacing with their rubber bullet guns and even more sinister were the half dozen or so cops on the surrounding rooftops.

Eventually, the mass of protestors who were left refused to leave in the face of swat and guns and gas. It made me extremely proud to see my city stand up for its beliefs — as is our constitutional right. The cops were on the bullhorns, which I gotta say, trash those things. They didn’t work very well if they can’t outshout a few people. We got word that the tear gas was about to be used, and I went to the front lines to see my local police department would turn into the police departments we had all been warned about. They did not disappoint.

I’ve never been in a warzone. But my father has. And the 15 minutes or so of continuous explosions and gas and screams made him very scared for me once he watched the live feed. Not even a minute had passed since the shooting and gas started, and I was hit in the chest with something that doubled me over in pain.

“Run!” my brain said.

But I couldn’t move.

Nobody for whom I was there to protest could move any longer … so who am I to run? So I helped others away from the chaos and implored them not to run but stand their ground. This is America after all — civil disobedience carried out in the way we were doing it should not have garnered the force the police brought.

All of us — herded like cattle, shot like dogs, pepper-sprayed while we ran. Grandma was on the Selma bridge the day my ancestors were massacred there, and I couldn’t help but think, “Damn, things will never change but the body count.”

Eventually, the protest devolved into military tactics used on civilians in a manner that shocked my father who himself spent 23 years fighting for our country and now works in the Pentagon with his own department.

I filmed as much as I could considering I can’t trust anybody who wasn’t there to tell the story. I saw women get guns pointed at the backs of their heads, I saw people sprayed like animals, I myself had guns pointed at my face, and I will never forget these things.

Everything went left. And it legit was unacceptable to treat peaceful people in that manner. Cops want to go home safe but don’t seem to care if we do.

Dr. Pippa Abston from Huntsville:

I arrived at Big Springs Park at about 4:30 before the start of the protest at 5 p.m. I am pleased to say that multiple medical people and first aid volunteers came. We had at least one EMT. People brought armloads of supplies and water. We had a medical area set up towards the back, and some of us walked through the crowd. I carried a medic sign on a pole.

After the speakers — which I don’t think I can do justice to describing, other than to say extremely inspiring — we were led up the stairs on the side of the park to march. There was chanting. It seemed to me that there were a whole lot more people than on Monday night. The line of marchers really couldn’t move much. We chanted.

Instead of a big march around the square, mainly people seemed to settle in the area in front of the courthouse. Everything I saw appeared peaceful in that area. Again, there were large numbers of police on the courthouse steps. This time they were holding large numbers of wrist ties, indicating to us that they planned to do a lot of arrests, I suppose. We could see people posted on top of the courthouse, and I was told they were snipers, but I couldn’t get a close enough look to verify that.

Suddenly — and again for no discernible reason — police dressed in riot gear lined up along the intersection where Fountain Circle turns into Southside Square. We heard a siren and then once again, unintelligible talking over some kind of sound system. I was roughly opposite the courthouse steps, and none of us could hear them.

Video: Pippa Abston

It turned into that game “operator” that kids play. People were passing along information that they had heard, but it wasn’t the same information. Some said we were supposed to leave in 4 minutes, others said everybody just had to get off the street and onto the sidewalks.

Toward Clinton, which was blocked also on Monday, there was no riot line of police, but there were some police cars, and it wasn’t clear to anyone standing there if that was an exit route. I asked several people if anyone had provided an exit route, as is required, and they said no.

Around that time, some people started coming up to us and reporting that first aid volunteers were being detained and ordered to remove their red cross signs made with tape, on the grounds that they were impersonating doctors. Because of this, the many medical volunteers we had were not identifiable to the crowd.

Several people came to me over the course of the night, because I still had the sign and a red cross on my shirt and backpack. I had put my medical license in with my ID, and I said “let them just try that.” But no one did.

We were also told that police on the courthouse roof were targeting medics — that they were pointing out our position. We were warned by several people to watch out because of that.

A few minutes later, people started passing down the word that they were about to start shooting rubber bullets. So the medical team I was with once again went down the stairs towards Big Spring Park, thinking likely that would be the way folks would flee again.

There was an initial rush of folks running down the stairs again, with some screaming, but this was brief and then people went back up again. We were unsure what to do but decided to stay in the park to be ready for their return. We heard chanting.

Photo: Sarah Myers

After some amount of time, which I did not note because I intentionally left my watch at home, a large crowd of people came screaming, running down those same stairs again into Big Spring Park, being chased by police and we heard shooting of rubber bullets.

We ran also. We heard several large explosions that sounded like bombs. We were told it was tear gas.

Even though it wasn’t really too close to where we were, my eyes did burn.

People passing us said that police had told them we had to leave Big Spring Park, a city park, because it was private property, and that we would be fine if we went across Church Street as long as we didn’t get near businesses.

So a lot of us — maybe 100 or so — walked over there. As we were heading there, we saw a large line of patrol cars with lights and sirens on, coming down Church Street, and we wondered if it was ok after all to go there, but they passed by. We were told they were circling the courthouse.

People milled around on the sidewalk area across near Church Street, which is definitely public property, talking, wondering what was next. Again, we stayed in case we needed to give medical help and also because we had never received any instructions from the police about where to go.

We got word that they were loading up large numbers of police into trucks and coming … to do what, we didn’t know, but we were worried, so we walked further away from Church Street toward the Von Braun Center area.

We saw a line of police advancing down Clinton and onto Monroe Street, and we were worried we were going to get trapped. A large crowd to the left of us were moving past the art museum, and suddenly there were explosions again and what looked like fireworks aimed at the crowd. I was told it was tear gas.

People were running and screaming and several of us were trying to help wash their eyes. These tear gas explosions happened several times. We thought they were trying to drive us to Monroe Street, but we had also seen troopers marching that way, and we didn’t know if we were going to get cornered.

We were still washing people’s eyes. Some people were having intense skin reactions to the gas, burning and redness.

One person had been hit so badly in the eyes that they couldn’t see to find their ride, so they walked with my group back to where we were parked and got a ride with my friends. It seemed like protesters were mostly dispersing from that end of the park. We heard there were continuing protests on Jefferson Street.

I made it home. That was like being in a war, getting shot at, having gas thrown at us. And once again, one of the scariest parts was that it wasn’t clear where to go and be safe from being shot at.

We have to keep showing up for these protests. They are obviously trying to terrorize us into staying home, but we must persist.